Post by katt on Sept 26, 2013 22:01:24 GMT -5

I thought I made this thread and stickied it before, but I can't find it so I am making it again. haha I just wanted to make it clear to everyone just how LITTLE it takes to block a ferret's very narrow digestive tract. Both of these were foreign bodies removed from Koda via emergency surgery. Blockages this size are LIFE THREATENING - if Koda had not had surgery, he would have died. I cannot express strongly enough how important it is to take any ferret with a suspected blockage to the vet immediately, and how important it is to ensure their play areas are ferret proofed.

Blockages KILL.

And they do not take much....

Some eraser bits he ate (don't know where or how he got them to this day):

The end of a drawstring from one of my shirts. (aka the infamous "Tiger Tail") We used to let them play in the laundry pile and snuggle in the clean clothes. Not anymore...

Post by Thérèse on Sept 27, 2013 8:36:10 GMT -5

It is very scary how little it can take. While I do not have pix it didn't take much to nearly kill Diablo when he was about 2yo. He had a floating blockage it turned out. We did surgery after testing for all sorts of other things because he had suddenly started being lethargic etc. The floating blockage must have moved into the wrong place suddenly. I have no idea when he actually consumed the item. I do actually think he did so by accident and it was actually ingested while digging a roll of paper towel or such when I brought shopping home (if I didn't remove things like paper towel or toilet paper immediately and they found them they would dig a huge hole in the side of the packet, very annoying but I didn't realise dangerous too). During surgery a small piece of plastic (like what paper towel or maybe a cat toy is packaged in) was removed.

So you know how little it takes it was only about a cm square or somewhat like the size the folders for the menu items on the homepage appear on my computer screen. Maybe the size of my thumbnail, maybe a bit smaller, and I don't have huge thumbs!

Post by Sherry on Sept 27, 2013 9:12:59 GMT -5

It really doesn't take much. And it can happen SO fast. We almost lost Lucrezia to one as well. She was fine when we went to work in the morning at 8:30. Didn't wake when we got home at 3pm. When we brought them out at 5 or so, she wouldn't come out. When I pulled her out of her bedding all she'd do is curl up. Rushed to the vet and the xray only showed gas build up. Barium finally pushed through a piece of soft foam not even a cm in diameter. While yes, she *might* have passed this on her own, it's the fact that from start to finish this took LESS THAN TWELVE HOURS.That is why we ALWAYS urge to move very quickly with these.

Post by katt on Sept 27, 2013 16:47:03 GMT -5

Exactly. It happens FAST. Koda was completely fine when I put him in his cage for the night. It was MAYBE 2 hours later when he started to claw at his face and projectile vomit. He threw up part of a toy rubber lizard, passed some pieces of tinfoil candy wrapper (thank goodness on those two), but the erasers were still in there. He went from happy and playful to squinty-eyed and lethargic faster than you can count to 10.

When a ferret has a blockage, the GI tract around the blockage begins to die. This death of intestinal tissue (called necrosis) spreads. The longer you hold off on surgery, the death of the intestines is spreading more and more. The more tissue that dies, the higher the risk of death of the ferret and the higher the risk of complications post-op as the dead tissue will all have to be removed during surgery (resected).Also during this time the ferret will become more dehydrated, BG will continue to drop, and their chances of surviving the surgery will SIGNIFICANTLY decrease. This is why getting to a vet ASAP is so important. Blockages happen, it doesn't take much to cause a blockage, they happen FAST, and every minute you wait your ferret is a minute closer to death, every minute could mean the life of your ferret.

Post by Sherry on Sept 27, 2013 19:54:30 GMT -5

And this is also the reason blockage surgeries can vary SO much in cost. Here they can run me anywhere from $800- $1800 depending on where the blockage is. If it's already made it's way to the bowel out of the stomach, there is most definitely necrotic tissue that needs to be dealt with as well as trying to find a blockage in the length of intestine and cutting it open and stitching it closed without any future problems.So from a purely financial point of view(and let's face it- we ALL need to look at this) the sooner you get them in, the better.

Post by amandas on Oct 12, 2015 20:03:18 GMT -5

How do you know of their is a blockage if it doesn't show up in an x-Ray and you didn't see your ferret eat anything. I've been posting about my ferret, Lily, who is currently very sick. She has these symptoms. She hurt her foot last week. The vet diagnosed her with pain from foot that resulted in ulcers which caused lethargy and not eating. She's been on antibiotics, antacids and stomach protectant for 3 days and is worse

Post by Heather on Oct 13, 2015 10:46:37 GMT -5

Barium xray is the one method that is used to find a blockage without going in for an exploratory surgery. Many if not most blockages cannot be seen by a normal xray. If you suspect this indeed might be the case ask for a barium. Ferrets with a blockage often will not eat and if they do eat they will vomit. In the initial, there may be some attempts to use the litter box and straining with nothing happening but this is only with a lower blockage. Pencil thin stools or liquid stools is another sign. Lethargy, gagging or pawing at the mouth. Refusing to eat, restlessness, pain on palpitation of abdomen. These are just a few symptomsciao

Post by Sherry on Oct 14, 2015 0:55:26 GMT -5

The one exception to most not being seen on a normal xray is if you have a VERY experienced ferret vet. And I mean someone who sees them all the time. Mi e will read trapped has as a blockage and then do a barium series